Racing

Colt Nichols' Day At Glen Helen Motocross | MX 2016

Colt Nichols went 19-13 for 16th overall at round 2.

June 1, 2016

The Cycle Trader Rock River Yamaha team made many positive changes on Colt’s bike after the opening round at Hangtown. The changes helped Colt feel more prepared coming into the weekend, leading to him qualifying 9th fastest.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt looking focused before the start of the first moto at Glen Helen Raceway.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt working on his gate before 250 moto 1.Photography by Preston Jordan

Navigating his way around Glen Helen Raceway.Photography by Preston Jordan

Getting a bit of a lean going off of the face of this hip.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt getting a little bit contorted as he straightens himself out for the landing of this hip jump in the back corner of the track.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt had to work his way through the pack, fighting hard to gain every position that he possibly could. Look for more and more improvement from him as the season progresses.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt hopes to improve his starts so he can run up front, where he knows he belongs, and improve his overall results.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt had to use some serious body english to straighten his bike back out after getting kicked sideways off of the face of this double built at the top of Shoei Mountain.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt working his way through some deep sand.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt was one of the few people who really enjoyed the big jumps at Glen Helen, especially the huge uphill triple, but not for the reasons that most people might expect. He stated that the track was so rough everywhere that the airtime from the big jumps gave him a little more time to breathe and relax.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt stated that this was, "One of the gnarliest track that I have actually had the pleasure of riding." The section that he is navigating here held very little room for error. Any miscalculation in rhythm and rut navigation could have easily ended up in a crash.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt navigating through the sand section following the finish line.Photography by Preston Jordan

Colt stated that he came into Glen Helen wanting to improve on his starts from the opening round at Hangtown. Unfortunately, he was plagued with mid-pack starts in both motos, but he worked himself through the pack to score a 19th in the first moto and a 13th in the second. He knows that if he can get a good start then he can run towards the front with the rest of the guys.Photography by Preston Jordan

It’s surprising to see how quickly bikes are torn down following the last motos of the day. It seems that within minutes bike are almost down to their frames, getting ready to be rebuilt for the following round. Luke Renzland’s bike in the foreground and Nichols’s bike in the background.Photography by Preston Jordan